Tonight I'm going in for the first of two 12 hour night shifts.
I have pulled an all nighter once in my life. It wasn't pretty.
I'm told that there's no way to prepare for a night shift unless you do them consistently.
I'm told that it's either crazy busy or ridiculously slow.
I'm told that night shift nurses end up eating a lot.
Oh boy.
Wish me luck.
More importantly, wish all of that luck onto my coworkers and patients who I interact with tonight.
Especially after 3am.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
The 5 Secrets to Life
When educating patients, I find myself repeating the same things over and over again.
People keep looking for the secrets to living healthy. They try new diets, new exercise programs, and other things to try to live better. Well here's what I have to say to you.
It's really not that complicated! Here are the five things that I would say are the secret to living. (please don't take me too seriously here. This comes from my imagination and has no research behind it.) If I were to ever stand on a soapbox, this would be my message.
Caroline's 5 secrets to living forever
1. Don't smoke. It's bad.
2. Don't drink too much. It's bad.
3. Exercise regularly. It's good.
4. Eat a well balanced diet. When I say well balanced, this doesn't mean that you have to go crazy and only eat vegetables. Follow the food pyramid or plate or whatever they have. Drink a lot of water.
5. Practice loving. Love other people, love yourself, and love God.
That's it! Granted there are things that these five steps won't help. This doesn't cure cancer. It doesn't make you look like a model. But you don't need super complicated and expensive diets or exercise regimens. It's pretty simple.
People keep looking for the secrets to living healthy. They try new diets, new exercise programs, and other things to try to live better. Well here's what I have to say to you.
It's really not that complicated! Here are the five things that I would say are the secret to living. (please don't take me too seriously here. This comes from my imagination and has no research behind it.) If I were to ever stand on a soapbox, this would be my message.
Caroline's 5 secrets to living forever
1. Don't smoke. It's bad.
2. Don't drink too much. It's bad.
3. Exercise regularly. It's good.
4. Eat a well balanced diet. When I say well balanced, this doesn't mean that you have to go crazy and only eat vegetables. Follow the food pyramid or plate or whatever they have. Drink a lot of water.
5. Practice loving. Love other people, love yourself, and love God.
That's it! Granted there are things that these five steps won't help. This doesn't cure cancer. It doesn't make you look like a model. But you don't need super complicated and expensive diets or exercise regimens. It's pretty simple.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Moments
Thought of the day: I am going to take care of thousands of patients over the course of my career. I'm going to forget their names. It would be unrealistic for me to remember all of them. They might have a dozen or more nurses assigned to them in one hospital stay. The time that I spend with them is short. I might not remember it. And they might not remember it.
This could mean one of two things.
1. I'm a nurse so I need to do my job well, but there's no sense in trying to make a lasting impact on every single person.
2. I could be assigned to this person specifically for a purpose, and I have only a few moments to allow that purpose to emerge. I don't know what God is doing in that person's life, and I'm not always sure what He's doing in mine either. What I do know is that allowing the Spirit to work in you can change everything.
People are so different. I've had patients who were terrified of their upcoming procedures. There are others who have had so many procedures done, they couldn't care less about what's next. There are people who have never heard of metoprolol or coumadin and others who know my drug book 10x better than I do. There are patients who have family there supporting them every step of the way. There are others who are all alone and are thrilled to be in the hospital because there are people looking out for them. Some patients have a ridiculously high pain tolerance. Others are wimps. Some feel like they are entitled to every free thing in the hospital whether it's ice cream, a bedpan, or the shampoo. Others are extremely grateful when you bring them a warm blanket. Some patients can't wait to get out of their beds. Some won't leave their beds. Some people give themselves a shot every single day, but others are terrified of needles.
Point is, when I walk into the room for the first time, I don't know what I'm going to get. I have just a few moments to be with them. Just a few moments to love them. Most likely, they'll forget my name and my face. But maybe they'll remember how I made them feel. And I guess it's up to me what that feeling will be.
This could mean one of two things.
1. I'm a nurse so I need to do my job well, but there's no sense in trying to make a lasting impact on every single person.
2. I could be assigned to this person specifically for a purpose, and I have only a few moments to allow that purpose to emerge. I don't know what God is doing in that person's life, and I'm not always sure what He's doing in mine either. What I do know is that allowing the Spirit to work in you can change everything.
People are so different. I've had patients who were terrified of their upcoming procedures. There are others who have had so many procedures done, they couldn't care less about what's next. There are people who have never heard of metoprolol or coumadin and others who know my drug book 10x better than I do. There are patients who have family there supporting them every step of the way. There are others who are all alone and are thrilled to be in the hospital because there are people looking out for them. Some patients have a ridiculously high pain tolerance. Others are wimps. Some feel like they are entitled to every free thing in the hospital whether it's ice cream, a bedpan, or the shampoo. Others are extremely grateful when you bring them a warm blanket. Some patients can't wait to get out of their beds. Some won't leave their beds. Some people give themselves a shot every single day, but others are terrified of needles.
Point is, when I walk into the room for the first time, I don't know what I'm going to get. I have just a few moments to be with them. Just a few moments to love them. Most likely, they'll forget my name and my face. But maybe they'll remember how I made them feel. And I guess it's up to me what that feeling will be.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Yay!
This post really has nothing to do with anything Mayo related, but I was very proud of myself, so I wanted to share that with all of you!
On the first weekend here, we tried to run our dishwasher, but it wasn't working. We emailed maintenance, but they took a while to respond. They came today, but it still wasn't working. I was sick of washing dishes by hand, so I decided to investigate by myself.
I FIXED IT!!!!! I did some research on the internet, flipped the circuit breaker, unplugged it, and looked at the control panel or whatever it was underneath the stinking thing. It finally worked! I am currently sitting on my kitchen floor filled with unspeakable joy. :)
I have never changed a tire or car oil or done much to fix anything, but I have now gained a new sense of confidence in my ability to live independently. Yay me.
Also, I did a whole transfer buses multiple times thing today with success. I'm always paranoid about missing a bus, but I handled it today with grace. Take that!
On the first weekend here, we tried to run our dishwasher, but it wasn't working. We emailed maintenance, but they took a while to respond. They came today, but it still wasn't working. I was sick of washing dishes by hand, so I decided to investigate by myself.
I FIXED IT!!!!! I did some research on the internet, flipped the circuit breaker, unplugged it, and looked at the control panel or whatever it was underneath the stinking thing. It finally worked! I am currently sitting on my kitchen floor filled with unspeakable joy. :)
I have never changed a tire or car oil or done much to fix anything, but I have now gained a new sense of confidence in my ability to live independently. Yay me.
Also, I did a whole transfer buses multiple times thing today with success. I'm always paranoid about missing a bus, but I handled it today with grace. Take that!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
You can tell you're a nursing student when....
You can tell you're a nursing student when you spend your Saturday nights playing an NCLEX review board game with your roommates.
This is a picture of me and my roommates
Tonight I played soccer on a woman's team with my clinical coach. I had a blast. I scored two goals. Not bad for someone who hasn't played for months.
Well, talk to you all soon!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Lessons from Spiderman and Luke
With great power comes great responsibility- Uncle Ben in Spiderman
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48
Once again, I'm going to apologize for being very vague. Over the last week, I've had some incredible experiences.
-I spent a day making arrangements for someone with a terminal illness to go and die in the comfort of their own home.
-I was in the room when someone's vital signs dropped rapidly and eventually the heart stopped beating. They ended up living through it, but I don't know the extent of the damage.
-I prayed with someone while both of us thought that their loved one was dying in front of our eyes.
-I listened to patients tell me about losing their son in Afghanistan.
-I've learned so much about the heart. Take care of your heart people! It's kind of important!
-I encountered about one of the scariest drugs a nurse can encounter. Flolan is a medication for pulmonary hypertension (very dangerous) that has a half life of about 4 minutes (How long it lasts in the body). It is a continuous infusion (people take it constantly through an IV) and nurses hate it because if something goes wrong, you have about 4 minutes to fix it.
Overall, this past week has been pretty exhausting emotionally and physically. There have been multiple times when I get back to my house, cry, and then take a nap. I don't think this will ever stop. And I hope that it doesn't.
I have been given much. With that, much is expected of me. I get to be with people during the most vulnerable points in their lives. I have the opportunity to listen, encourage, pray with, pray for, empathize, cry with, and give hope to people on a daily basis.
I hope that I never lose sight of the magnitude of this privilege. I hope that in 20 or 30 years that I can still cry. I hope that in 20 or 30 years, I will still recognize that I have a responsibility. The responsibility part doesn't just come from being a nurse. My responsibility to care for people comes from loving God. Nursing is just an excellent way to make it a career.
I thought that having a real job would be so much easier than being in school. When you're in school, you have to study and do homework even after a long day in class or in clinicals. I thought that in the real world, you'd go to work, come home, then be done. I was wrong. I'm taking it home with me too.
And in a weird, distorted way, I love it.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48
Once again, I'm going to apologize for being very vague. Over the last week, I've had some incredible experiences.
-I spent a day making arrangements for someone with a terminal illness to go and die in the comfort of their own home.
-I was in the room when someone's vital signs dropped rapidly and eventually the heart stopped beating. They ended up living through it, but I don't know the extent of the damage.
-I prayed with someone while both of us thought that their loved one was dying in front of our eyes.
-I listened to patients tell me about losing their son in Afghanistan.
-I've learned so much about the heart. Take care of your heart people! It's kind of important!
-I encountered about one of the scariest drugs a nurse can encounter. Flolan is a medication for pulmonary hypertension (very dangerous) that has a half life of about 4 minutes (How long it lasts in the body). It is a continuous infusion (people take it constantly through an IV) and nurses hate it because if something goes wrong, you have about 4 minutes to fix it.
Overall, this past week has been pretty exhausting emotionally and physically. There have been multiple times when I get back to my house, cry, and then take a nap. I don't think this will ever stop. And I hope that it doesn't.
I have been given much. With that, much is expected of me. I get to be with people during the most vulnerable points in their lives. I have the opportunity to listen, encourage, pray with, pray for, empathize, cry with, and give hope to people on a daily basis.
I hope that I never lose sight of the magnitude of this privilege. I hope that in 20 or 30 years that I can still cry. I hope that in 20 or 30 years, I will still recognize that I have a responsibility. The responsibility part doesn't just come from being a nurse. My responsibility to care for people comes from loving God. Nursing is just an excellent way to make it a career.
I thought that having a real job would be so much easier than being in school. When you're in school, you have to study and do homework even after a long day in class or in clinicals. I thought that in the real world, you'd go to work, come home, then be done. I was wrong. I'm taking it home with me too.
And in a weird, distorted way, I love it.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
The Nurse's Walk
I'll have some stories to share with you all soon, but I have something to give you. I have composed a song.
This song was born out of inspiration that I received from watching nurses that I aspire to be like. One thing that they had in common was that they all had mastered the Nurse's Walk. Apparently, this is something that you gain once you have experience because I know for sure that not all nursing students can accomplish this.
In order to give you all an idea of what this concept it, I wrote this song. I'm proud of it.
To the tune of "Walk like an Egyptian" (Here's the link to the original song if you don't know it http://youtu.be/gzeOWnnSNjg and this is the link to the karaoke version so you can sing along http://youtu.be/VJ-9J-mejkk)
Call lights flashing everywhere
They need to go now, don't you know
If they move too quick oh whey oh
They're falling down like a domino
Got to give all the meds by nine
or they'll be late oh no whey oh
Need to educate them on time
So they can be ready to go
Shoulders back and head held high say
Make way oh, ay oh whey ohhhhhh
Walk like a busy nurse
Dance break!
The PCAs take the trays
They make the bed and they cross the floor
They've got the moves oh whey oh
You can tell they've done this before
All the patients so sick of this
They feel like a pincushion
Then the Code Bell Rings oh whey oh
You're running fast as you can
Stride like you're on a mission
Make way oh, ay oh whey ohhhhhhh
Walk like a busy nurse
Dance break #2!
Slide them onto the bed bend your back
Shift the sheets then you pull them back
Life is hard you know oh whey oh
So find a good chiroprac
If you want to have some fun
You make sure your charting is done
You sing and dance oh whey oh
You've made a difference to someone
Walk with pride cause you made someone's day
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like a busy nurse
Walk like a busy nurse
Note: I left out one verse. I got lazy. Also, I know that chiroprac isn't a word, but it just worked so well I decided to keep it.
This song was born out of inspiration that I received from watching nurses that I aspire to be like. One thing that they had in common was that they all had mastered the Nurse's Walk. Apparently, this is something that you gain once you have experience because I know for sure that not all nursing students can accomplish this.
In order to give you all an idea of what this concept it, I wrote this song. I'm proud of it.
To the tune of "Walk like an Egyptian" (Here's the link to the original song if you don't know it http://youtu.be/gzeOWnnSNjg and this is the link to the karaoke version so you can sing along http://youtu.be/VJ-9J-mejkk)
Call lights flashing everywhere
They need to go now, don't you know
If they move too quick oh whey oh
They're falling down like a domino
Got to give all the meds by nine
or they'll be late oh no whey oh
Need to educate them on time
So they can be ready to go
Shoulders back and head held high say
Make way oh, ay oh whey ohhhhhh
Walk like a busy nurse
Dance break!
The PCAs take the trays
They make the bed and they cross the floor
They've got the moves oh whey oh
You can tell they've done this before
All the patients so sick of this
They feel like a pincushion
Then the Code Bell Rings oh whey oh
You're running fast as you can
Stride like you're on a mission
Make way oh, ay oh whey ohhhhhhh
Walk like a busy nurse
Dance break #2!
Slide them onto the bed bend your back
Shift the sheets then you pull them back
Life is hard you know oh whey oh
So find a good chiroprac
If you want to have some fun
You make sure your charting is done
You sing and dance oh whey oh
You've made a difference to someone
Walk with pride cause you made someone's day
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like a busy nurse
Walk like a busy nurse
Note: I left out one verse. I got lazy. Also, I know that chiroprac isn't a word, but it just worked so well I decided to keep it.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
When left to my own devices...
One great thing about this summer is that I get to see how I live on my own.
Do I make good food or just eat whatever I can find?
Do I ever exercise?
How do I spend my time when I'm bored and there are no siblings to annoy?
Well, this weekend, I've found out a few answers.
I eat whatever I can find. I have good intentions, but....
Yes, I do exercise. However, it's on my own terms. Example: I took a nice little jog/walk that was interrupted by a short stop to McDonalds to buy a hot fudge sundae. I also biked to the grocery store and thrift store. Alas, what I had been told but had forgotten was that at Aldi, you need to bring your own bags or take their boxes. I ended up buying one of those really oversized bags for 10 cents. Not that bad. Until I got to my bike. It's kind of hard to balance one heavy bag on a bike. It took a while to figure it out, but eventually I managed to even things out with a bag from the thrift store. Then it started raining. No worries, I got home in one piece, but boy I can make a comical sight.
How do I spend my time without annoying siblings? I end up annoying cats instead. There is a family of cats on Crossroads campus. There are two adults (I'm assuming it's the mommy and daddy, but you never know) and four kittens. Don't worry, I haven't touched them, but we've spent some time staring into each others eyes. I blame it on them. I was just trying to read a book, but they couldn't keep their eyes off of me. Naturally, I named them. Mom and Dad are Amy and Rory while the kiddos are Annabeth, Nico, Percy, and Hazel. (It was between this, the Pevensie children, or the Ninja Turtles)
FSOTD (Funny story of the day): I biked to church this morning. It's about 2 1/2 miles and a very pretty route. When I reached about two miles, I was on this section of sidewalk where there is a section of grass between the road and the path. There I was, moseying along when I was suddenly assaulted by a red-winged black bird! Apparently, I got too close to it's nest or something, but it was very unhappy. It flew at the back of my head and started squawking. It never got a good grip thanks to my handy dandy bun, but it tried its best. I was honestly so startled that I never screamed or anything. I kind of just calmly started to swat it away. Unfortunately, this interfered with my steering skills My bike started swerving while I tried to get the bird out of my hair. Like I mentioned earlier, I can really make a comical sight. I would have loved to be someone driving by who saw this happening. The most important thing is that I want you all to know that I did not scream. However, my trip back through that area was much quicker than the first time.
Do I make good food or just eat whatever I can find?
Do I ever exercise?
How do I spend my time when I'm bored and there are no siblings to annoy?
Well, this weekend, I've found out a few answers.
I eat whatever I can find. I have good intentions, but....
Yes, I do exercise. However, it's on my own terms. Example: I took a nice little jog/walk that was interrupted by a short stop to McDonalds to buy a hot fudge sundae. I also biked to the grocery store and thrift store. Alas, what I had been told but had forgotten was that at Aldi, you need to bring your own bags or take their boxes. I ended up buying one of those really oversized bags for 10 cents. Not that bad. Until I got to my bike. It's kind of hard to balance one heavy bag on a bike. It took a while to figure it out, but eventually I managed to even things out with a bag from the thrift store. Then it started raining. No worries, I got home in one piece, but boy I can make a comical sight.
How do I spend my time without annoying siblings? I end up annoying cats instead. There is a family of cats on Crossroads campus. There are two adults (I'm assuming it's the mommy and daddy, but you never know) and four kittens. Don't worry, I haven't touched them, but we've spent some time staring into each others eyes. I blame it on them. I was just trying to read a book, but they couldn't keep their eyes off of me. Naturally, I named them. Mom and Dad are Amy and Rory while the kiddos are Annabeth, Nico, Percy, and Hazel. (It was between this, the Pevensie children, or the Ninja Turtles)
FSOTD (Funny story of the day): I biked to church this morning. It's about 2 1/2 miles and a very pretty route. When I reached about two miles, I was on this section of sidewalk where there is a section of grass between the road and the path. There I was, moseying along when I was suddenly assaulted by a red-winged black bird! Apparently, I got too close to it's nest or something, but it was very unhappy. It flew at the back of my head and started squawking. It never got a good grip thanks to my handy dandy bun, but it tried its best. I was honestly so startled that I never screamed or anything. I kind of just calmly started to swat it away. Unfortunately, this interfered with my steering skills My bike started swerving while I tried to get the bird out of my hair. Like I mentioned earlier, I can really make a comical sight. I would have loved to be someone driving by who saw this happening. The most important thing is that I want you all to know that I did not scream. However, my trip back through that area was much quicker than the first time.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Rah Rah Nursing!
Today was our last day of orientation. It was kind of wonderful because they basically paid us to sit there and be treated well. We were treated to a hand massage to 'show' us how nice it is when you get one so that we can give them to patients. Believe me. It was nice.
We ate some good food and talked about our experiences on the units so far. Then we got a tour of Rochester. Finally, we were taken to the Foundation House which was the home of one of the original Mayo brothers. (I can't remember if it was Charles or Will). Apparently, being taken there is a huge honor. This place was Bea-u-ti-ful. A lot of famous people have been there. They served us the best meal that I will eat this whole summer. After stuffing our faces, they had two speakers come up and talk about their experiences at Mayo with nurses.
The message of both speakers was basically- "nurses matter" "nurses make a difference" "what you do is important" "you are the future of nursing". I am a sucker for inspirational speeches, so naturally I loved it. Quite honestly, I think that I picked the best profession there is. I haven't had a lot of experience on the patients side of things (Thank you God!), but I can already see how much of an impact I have the opportunity to make.
Quick story of the week: I had a patient who caused a lot of problems for some of the nurses on the floor. She refused medications and treatments from some of the nurses, but we couldn't let her go until we had done some tests. I had the opportunity to sit with her for a while and try to win her over. It actually kind of worked! She held my hand very tightly while they drew some blood and allowed my nurse and I to give her the medications. It was a small win, but I think that it made a difference.
This is a quick video that they showed to us on Monday. I liked it a lot. :) http://youtu.be/cDDWvj_q-o8
We ate some good food and talked about our experiences on the units so far. Then we got a tour of Rochester. Finally, we were taken to the Foundation House which was the home of one of the original Mayo brothers. (I can't remember if it was Charles or Will). Apparently, being taken there is a huge honor. This place was Bea-u-ti-ful. A lot of famous people have been there. They served us the best meal that I will eat this whole summer. After stuffing our faces, they had two speakers come up and talk about their experiences at Mayo with nurses.The message of both speakers was basically- "nurses matter" "nurses make a difference" "what you do is important" "you are the future of nursing". I am a sucker for inspirational speeches, so naturally I loved it. Quite honestly, I think that I picked the best profession there is. I haven't had a lot of experience on the patients side of things (Thank you God!), but I can already see how much of an impact I have the opportunity to make.
Quick story of the week: I had a patient who caused a lot of problems for some of the nurses on the floor. She refused medications and treatments from some of the nurses, but we couldn't let her go until we had done some tests. I had the opportunity to sit with her for a while and try to win her over. It actually kind of worked! She held my hand very tightly while they drew some blood and allowed my nurse and I to give her the medications. It was a small win, but I think that it made a difference.
This is a quick video that they showed to us on Monday. I liked it a lot. :) http://youtu.be/cDDWvj_q-o8
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